Massive production ambitions are meeting a painfully slow start.
“For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow,” Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk recently wrote on X.
Tesla is set to begin producing the Cybercab robotaxi in April, as it also works toward bringing its Optimus humanoid robot into production. The two-seat Cybercab is designed without a steering wheel or pedals, is expected to cost about $25,000, and is part of Musk’s goal of reaching long-term production of 2 million robotaxis a year.
Don’t Miss:
Tesla launched an autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin in June and operates a small number of Model Y vehicles. Those vehicles are part of ongoing testing as Tesla works toward broader autonomous deployment. The Cybercab is designed as a vehicle built specifically for autonomous service.
Optimus is designed for unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks, and Tesla has said it is planning for an eventual capacity of 1 million robots per year.
Musk told investors in October that reaching that level would take time because Tesla must manufacture much of the supply chain from scratch, with production moving at the pace of the “slowest, dumbest, least lucky thing out of 10,000 unique items.”
Tesla’s production plans are unfolding alongside recent financial and market developments. In its latest earnings report, the company posted its smallest profit since the COVID-19 pandemic, with net income down 46% last year, as Tesla increased its focus on AI, autonomy and robotics tied to Cybercab and Optimus.
Tesla said it expects capital expenditures to be in excess of $20 billion this year, driven by AI initiatives and expanded manufacturing and infrastructure.
As part of that shift, the company expects to wind down Model S and Model X production next quarter and convert the production space at its Fremont factory for Optimus robot manufacturing.
Meanwhile, Tesla is advancing its autonomous testing in Texas. Musk posted on X late last month that the company had begun robotaxi rides in Austin without safety monitors inside the vehicles.
